Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., talks to reporters as he leaves the floor of the Senate after his filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan on Thursday.

Written by

Jim Michaels
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - After nearly 13 hours on the Senate floor, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., ended his filibuster blocking Senate confirmation of John Brennan, President Obama's pick for director of the CIA.

"I'm going to speak as long as I can to draw attention to something I find very disturbing," Paul said when he started speaking around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday morning. He finally ceded the floor at about 12:40 a.m. local time on Thursday.

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, also a Kentucky Republican, said he would continue to oppose Brennan's confirmation and ending debate on it. ...